Hero
by amarie-chan
Summary: Having been found after months of being MIA, Hinata and Ino return to Konoha battered and beaten and with a new sense of determination and resolve. Naruhina, Shikaino, Nejiten, Sasusaku. Previously There's a Hero in Me.
1. Chapter 1

_There's a Hero in Me_

Pairings: Naruhina, Shikaino, Nejiten, Sasusaku

Summary: Having been found after months of being MIA, Hinata and Ino return to Konoha battered and beaten and with a new sense of determination.

Chapter one:

Sakura sighed slightly as she heard the distant thumps of a kunai hitting a poor, defenceless target dummy, walking up the dirt path to her former team's training ground. As she neared, her black-haired teammate greeted her with a slight nod and she continued on to stand beside him. The trees provided shade on that warm summer day, and Sakura found it hard to believe that anyone could be training in such humidity. Then again, Naruto wasn't just _anyone_.

"How long has it been this time?" she asked Sasuke quietly so as to not disturb their other teammate.

"I've been here since six o'clock and the dobe _still_ beat me here," he replied as he watched another kunai soar to hit its intended target. "Sometimes I wonder if he's even human."

"Well, you can't exactly blame him. If he wants to get stronger, he'll have to work for it," Sakura retorted with a pitying glance. Even when the teams disbanded, the three teammates often met up at their old training ground, however lately their training mostly consisted of Naruto's hard work and the other two observing his actions. It almost became a ritual.

"Don't tell me you're not even the slightest bit worried," Sasuke countered nonchalantly, turning to her with a raised eyebrow. A different set of thumps began making contact with its objective as the blonde switched from target practise to hand to trunk combat.

Sakura scoffed, "of course I'm worried Sasuke-kun. I'm not that much of a heartless fool as to not even care about my teammates!"

"I didn't mean it like –"

"I'm just trying to understand him, and support him when he needs it! Unlike you who doesn't even care if he dies or not. He just needs his space right now. I don't want to smother him!" Sakura exclaimed, her voice raising an octave with each word. Unbeknownst to them, the thumps began to cease.

Sasuke's voice also got louder; though remained as calm and cool as he could muster. "I do care about the dobe; that's why we can't let him go on like this! He's been acting like everything is okay, but we can see right through him! It's annoying the hell out of me!"

"Is that all you can think about; yourself? Who cares if it annoys you? This isn't about you! If Naruto needed help he would have asked for it!" The medic transferred to all out screaming by now and Sasuke recoiled slightly. He knew her crush on him subsided long ago, but it was still a shock when she yelled at him. The only other time he she raised her voice at him was when their blonde teammate finally managed to drag him back. He would never in all his life admit that he was even the slightest bit frightened.

"You guys should really keep your lover's spat at home, especially when someone is trying to train," a new voice joined the conversation, making the other two jump. They turned slightly to find the foxy grin of Naruto's directed right at them.

"Sorry Naruto," Sakura apologized, blushing profusely from embarrassment and anger at his stupid 'lover's spat' comment. "We didn't realize we were disturbing you."

"Don't worry about it," Naruto laughed, "What were you fighting about this time? Was Sasuke here getting jealous because you finally realized how much you loved me? I heard my name quite a bit." A vein popped on both his teammates' heads as two lumps formed from the contact of two fists hitting his blonde head.

"It was a joke," he whined rubbing the spots where they hit. "Besides, I already have... never mind." Naruto's bright blue eyes darkened a bit as the conversation began to crash and burn.

Sakura and Sasuke exchanged looks of regret before turning back to their teammate, looking for a way to change the subject.

"You know," Naruto continued before the two could say a word, "Baa-chan said that I had to wait at least another month before searching again, considering what happened on the last mission." He laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "That wasn't even technically my fault, that guy had it coming. And it's not like I meant to blow up his restaurant! Don't people know that fire and gas don't work together in the kitchen? He shouldn't have given me either!" He turned away, his voice straining just enough for his teammates to hear it.

"Shut up," Sasuke mumbled, shuffling over slightly to lean against a nearby tree, crossing his arms defiantly. "You're an idiot, you know that?"

"Yeah, I know."

Sasuke looked over at his blonde friend, while Sakura's eyes started to water slightly. Their teammate had a faraway look in his eye, looking up at the sky in a casual yet dismal manner. They could hear the brokenness in his voice, no matter how hard he tried to hide it.

"Na – "

"I wonder how Shikamaru's taking it," he wondered out loud, cutting off the hurt Sakura. "I hardly ever get to see him anymore what with him passing the jounin exams and whatnot. Choji too, I mean she was their teammate after all. Hinata was just a friend, and just look at the impact she had on me."

"That's it!" Sakura shouted, shaking the ground beneath their feet as she stomped on it. "This is ridiculous. First of all Naruto, you and I both know that Hina-chan was not "just a friend" to you! How can you even say that? Hell, even Sasuke-kun noticed whatever it was going on between you guys! I know that you weren't technically officially dating, but there was a connection and don't even dare to deny it! Second of all, I know that you care for them, I do too, more so than you will ever know; but you can't keep going on like this! One of these days you are going to collapse from exhaustion and what if that's the day Hina-chan and Ino come back? I'm pretty sure you wouldn't want to be trapped in a hospital room when they do! Thirdly –" the cherry blossom paused for a moment, taking in a deep breath and trying to hold back tears. Sasuke watched her intently then diverted his eyes to Naruto who was boring a whole in the ground with his own eyes. " – you have to let us in! You have to let us help you. We're your teammates after all. Your pain is our pain! We feel what you're feeling. I loved them just as much as you! They were my best friends and I can understand your pain! We have..."

"You don't get it," Naruto's deathly low voice cut off her confrontation and she looked at him, unable to suppress her tears. "YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND AT ALL! I SHOULD HAVE PROTECTED HER! I WAS SENT THERE FOR BACK-UP AND I COULDN'T EVEN MAKE IT IN TIME! I'M A NINJA FOR CRYING OUT LOUD; I CAN'T BELIEVE I WAS SO WEAK AS TO NOT EVEN BEEN ABLE TO KEEP HER AWAY FROM THOSE CREEPS," his shouts filled the training ground and the atmosphere dropped several degrees. Sakura slid to ground, her shocked face tear streaked. Even Sasuke's eyes widened slightly, standing up straighter and unfolding his arms. "But I will promise you this. I will get them back, no matter what it takes. I will get them back."

Naruto paused slightly, a strangled look of guilt crossing his face before he fled, not even bothering to clean up the wide range of destruction he'd caused just fifteen minutes prior. The two leftover shinobi sat in silence for a moment, unable to find words in their mouths. Finally, Sakura stood up again, brushing off the dirt from her clothes and putting on a fake watery smile.

"Well that didn't go as well as I had hoped," she said in a soft voice. "I wonder how Tenten is doing with Shikamaru and Choji. She still has her own team to worry about without looking after those two bums." She attempted a small laugh, but it merely came out sounding like a strangled cat.

Sasuke raised his eyebrows inquisitively. "How long do you two plan to keep this up? We all know what you're trying to do and really, I find it stupid. Instead of looking after the guys, why don't you look after yourselves? Girls are more emotional after all. It's been about five months since they've first disappeared and all that time I've only probably seen you cry about three times. You shouldn't be lecturing Naruto about letting his teammates in. You'll just be labelled as a hypocrite."

"Just because I don't let you guys in, doesn't mean I've closed myself off from the world," Sakura bit back, glaring at her teammate. "Tenten and I have found support in each other, and that's really just enough for us. But with you guys, everything just seems broken. Naruto has completely alienated himself from the human population and is so deep in his guilt-ridden depression that he fails to see what really needs to be done. We feel just as helpless as he feels, but it's not as if we're trying to do nothing. We feel that we at least owe it to Hinata and Ino to support their friends and teammates, no matter the cost. Even if I have to be yelled at by Naruto ever other day, it's my duty as Hinata's friend and Naruto's teammate to just let him know I care. And I know deep down he recognizes that."

Sasuke couldn't find anything to say back to that. He knew that the girl was hurting. He had lied previously; he had seen her cry, many times in fact, she just didn't know it. There were those odd moments when he stumbled upon Sakura and Tenten having private meetings and get-togethers to just keep each other company and cry. He would never admit it, but he sort of felt jealous that it was Tenten his teammate went to for a shoulder to cry on, instead of him.

"Anyways, I'm off to find Kiba-kun and Shino-kun to see how they are doing. Kurenai-sensei isn't having a very easy time with those two apparently. And I'm set to meet up with Ten-chan later; we're going to go shopping! So, I'll see you around Sasuke-kun." Sakura gave the Uchiha a cheery smile and wave before running out of the training ground, leaving the stoic boy to mull over his own thoughts.

* * *

Tenten hummed a soft tune as she walked through the empty streets of Konoha. Despite it being just after noon, the usual hustle and bustle in their beloved village seemed to be just as dead as she felt. She passed by a small tea house and stopped suddenly, looking inside to see her close friend Nara Shikamaru with a blonde beauty; yet, it didn't seem like he was actually enjoying himself. Tenten sighed. Ever since the disappearance of Hinata and Ino, each of the boys in her life seemed to be having a stranger and stranger response to the situation. Neji was hot and cold around her. One minute he would be all touchy-feelings, hugging her and begging for her company and the next he would be shoving her out the door and not coming out of that bat-cave he called a room for weeks on end. It infuriated her. Naruto was training his butt off to prove to Hokage-sama that he was strong enough to get those two back, nearly killing himself and worrying Sakura in the process. Even Choji seemed to be having some kind of withdrawal symptom to the situation; eating less. It was a surprise to have at least ten people in one day comment that he seemed to be losing weight. Lee was slightly indifferent; he didn't exactly know the two kunoichi as well as the others, however he was affected in some way. He smile wasn't as bright and Tenten oftentimes found him spacing out for no apparent reason, which that in itself was weird, especially for Lee. However, Shikamaru's reaction was by far the most noticeable. He was turning into a responsive equivalent to Sasuke!

Tenten giggled to herself as she mulled it over, deciding to wait until Shikamaru was done with his date before going to talk to him, since it was her he was supposed to be sitting with inside that tea house instead of that blonde. Her and the lazy genius weren't that close initially. She had spoken to him quite a few times over the years, considering he was part of the Konoha 12 and Ino's best friend, however she never really got close to him on a personal level. It was only until Ino's sudden disappearance that they had even begun to talk. Over the last few months, the two had grown a strong bond, with him unconsciously relying on her for almost everything and her being his pillar of support. It was a unique friendship, but a strong one at that. Tenten usually kept him from going totally overboard with his drinking and flirting, which was definitely a good thing. He usually kept her busy Friday nights when Neji would be a jerk and he would be out drinking. She played the good, clean sober friend and brought him home every day, making sure he didn't do anything to taint his virtue. He was, after all, a year younger than her, plus a shinobi. Getting some random girl pregnant could be the end of his ninja career as he knew it.

She didn't know when or how it started, but she knew why. After Ino left, Shikamaru was a total mess and Choji wasn't much better. It was bad enough that their beloved Asuma-sensei had been previously murdered, but to lose another one of their family was totally unbearable. They probably had the closest bond as teammates out of all the squads, despite their bickering. But when Ino suddenly disappeared, you would expect the two remaining teammates to lean on each other right? Well, that definitely wasn't the case. Choji would be totally MIA during long periods of time and during the times he was seen, he wouldn't be eating. Shikamaru would spend his nights going to bars, downing sake until he collapsed and flirting up random chicks. It was a good thing Tenten found him that one night when he was being led away by some blond bombshell, or else who knows what would've happened.

Now that Tenten thought about it, Shikamaru was always seen around blondes. Even Temari of the Sand, whom the genius had always had a good relationship with, had been seemingly a lot closer with him than he would usually allow. Tenten wondered why she even put up with him now-a-days as the flirting seemed to be growing more intense with each day.

"Tenten, why are you just standing there and looking inside like a creeper?" a voice asked, shaking her out of her thoughts. Shikamaru was standing at the entrance of the little shop, raising his eyebrows at her mockingly.

"Shut up, I was just waiting for you to finish your date," she snapped, walking over to cross the threshold as her companion smirked. "I thought we made plans, but it looks like I've just been stood up."

"What? Are you jealous?" he taunted, guiding her to their table. "And it wasn't a date; Isa-chan just happened to be there, so while I was waiting so darn long for you to come, she kept me company."

"Yeah whatever Shikamaru; just cut the crap with me okay. I'm not one of your sluts that you have recently begun to take a liking to, so there is no need to pretend."

"Why so touchy today Tenten? Did Neji do something to irk you? And if so, please don't go crying on my shoulder again. That one time was troublesome enough." That lazy drawl of his was finally coming back. Tenten sighed in relief; there was the Shikamaru everyone knew and loved. The Shikamaru Ino loved.

"No he's just being so... ugh again. Why does he have to do that? Every single time! I'm trying my best to be there for him, what with Hina-chan's disappearance, but every time I mention her name or it's brought up even in the slightest bit he draws back into his shell like a turtle and cuts me out. I was with him late last night and then Hanabi-chan comes in holding one of Hina-chan's favourite fans and Neji tells me to leave. He didn't even say why! Just "Tenten, it's time for you to go. I believe you know your way out." Like... UGH! I can't just drop everything for him and abide by his schedule! It's bad enough having Naruto-kun believe that it's his fault for their kidnapping, but now Neji too? Sometimes I wonder why I even bother anymore."

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "It's not like this is anything knew. Neji has been like that for the past five months. And it's not like he can help but feel that way. Hinata was his responsibility, and he was on that recon team with Naruto. Obviously they'd all have that same guilt," he countered, taking a sip out of the tea he had ordered before Tenten got there.

Tenten perked up, happy that the conversation had been easy to transition into. "So does that mean you feel guilty too? You and Choji-kun were on that team, as well as Shino-kun."

"No, what would I have to feel guilty about? Besides, Ino and Hinata are big girls, they should have been able to handle themselves," the tactician muttered, looking out the window as Tenten balled her fists.

"How can you say that? Do you even know what the mission was about? How can you say that they 'should' have been able to take care of themselves when you don't even know what danger they were in? You say it as if they are weak kunoichi! Sakura told me that the mission was originally a B-class mission, but by the end, it suddenly turned S-class! S-class, Shikamaru. Why do you think you were sent for back-up?"

"This is why girls are troublesome; they are too emotional," he mumbled, taking another sip out of his cup. However Tenten could see that she hit a nerve, as she could see the way his grip tightened on the cup. "Besides, they're ninja, they should know that whenever they take on a mission, there's a high possibility that they'd never come back."

Tenten sighed, unclenching her fists, "that's true. But seriously Shikamaru, I'm not telling you to feel guilty like them, even though I know you are. But it just seems like you've gone totally heartless."

"Who says I'm feeling guilty?"

"Oh please," the brunette scoffed, "I think I know you well enough to know how you are feeling. And look at how much you've changed; you've become a man-slut."

"Whatever, what about you?" Shikamaru retorted trying to keep his composure. "Earlier you mentioned that Neji can't expect you to just drop everything for him; but the thing is, he doesn't. You do that all on your own, he doesn't ask for it."

Tenten flushed crimson, opening and closing her mouth like a fish. "Don't change the subject! Seriously dude, I'm worried about you. Sakura and me both; why are you going around with all these girls? And have you noticed that a large percent of them are blondes?

"Tenten, I've told you this before, nothing is going on with me, so you don't have to keep pestering. I just want to have a little fun. And stop calculating my every movement, it's such a drag!"

"Shikamaru, you haven't always been like this. Come on; just tell me what on your mind. You've danced around this question for about four months now, I think it's finally time for you to come up with some answers," the weapon mistress prodded.

Her companion seemed to think for a moment, analysing the situation. After a moment of looking back at Tenten's fierce glare he relented, knowing that it would only lead to more troublesome situations in the future.

"I just miss her okay? I have the strongest feeling that she isn't dead, but there's that stupid demon in the back of my mind telling me that I'm some hopeless idiot for believing that. Nobody really knows what their original mission was; all I know is that it was a seduction mission. When I first found out of course I was slightly bugged. But I had no right to say anything or tell Ino not to take it. She's a big girl; she should have been able to take it. It was only B-ranked after all. But when Tsunade-sama summoned us to back them up, telling us that we had to get there right away because the girls could be in bigger danger than she originally thought, we all raced out of Konoha as fast as we could. But when we got to the bar the girls were supposed to be at, there was nothing; absolutely nothing besides dead corpses and smashed glass, Ino and Hinata gone along with their captors. Obviously I feel it's my fault, who wouldn't in this situation. You didn't see it Tenten, it was horrible, and to think our girls were a part of that, it just made it ten times worse. I don't know if she is really dead yet, but I guess I just can't think straight without knowing she's safe. All these girls, I feel nothing, but it just fills the emptiness. She was my teammate after all. We had a bond."

'_You were more than teammates you idiot_,' Tenten thought, preferring not to voice her opinion out loud. In any case, she was slightly shocked; that was the most she had ever heard him speak ever in all her years of knowing him, let alone about the subject at hand.

"Shikamaru, you have to stop this, you can't go on with this depression. Why don't you go find Choji and go do something together, I never see the two of you talking anymore. You've both been so distant."

"I'm pretty sure everyone's been distant," he mumbled, though nodding slightly in acknowledgement.

"Come on, go find him and just sit around and watch clouds like you used to," Tenten advised, standing up swiftly and grabbing his arm. "If you haven't noticed, that boy hasn't been eating much and never sees anyone anymore. You're his best friend, make an effort to stay his best friend!"

Shikamaru considered the suggestion. He was slightly worried about his friend, but he was so caught up in his own life that he hadn't really paid much attention to anything else. Finally, he relented, allowing Tenten to lift him and lead him out of the tea shop, but not before throwing a few coins down to pay for his tea.

"Anyways, I'll see you later buddy," Tenten said, putting her arms around his neck in a tight hug. "I have to go meet up with Sa-chan and see how she's doing."

"Yeah, and thanks for your help Tenten. You've been a good friend. And don't worry about Neji, he'll come around."

The brunette smiled softly. "Let's hope so."

* * *

"Hey Sa-chan, sorry I'm late. Shikamaru was with some random blonde chick before I came so I had to wait a bit. But good news, I finally got him to go talk to Choji!" Tenten ran into the Dango shop, her face bright and flushed, betraying the fact that she had to rush to their meeting place.

Sakura laughed, shaking her head in response. "No it's okay. I just got here myself. Kiba-kun and Shino-kun didn't really take long. For the most part Shino-kun ignored my presence completely, as usual, and Kiba-kun had to run home early to run an errand for his sister. However, Naruto was kind of interesting today. He finally snapped after all this time."

"Yeah, Shikamaru snapped too... well, he didn't really start yelling at me, but I did manage to break his resolve. Neji on the other hand, locked himself in his room again and Lee, I couldn't even find him!" Tenten put her head down on the table, completely put out and exhausted.

"Do you think they'll be okay?" Sakura suddenly asked, whispering her question with a blank look.

Tenten didn't get up, nor show any reaction to the question, yet her best friend still knew the answer she would have given.

_I hope so._

The medic sighed. "Come on, no sulking today. Let's go take a walk to get our mind off everything."

Tenten grumbled but allowed the younger girl to grab her by the arm and drag her along, pouting childishly all the way. The two girls stopped just by the waterfall, taking off their ninja sandals and dipping their feet into the water.

"I really miss them," Sakura commented, splashing the water slighting at Tenten with her feet. "It's been exactly five months since they disappeared."

Her friend nodded, splashing her back. "I really want to know what their mission was and why its class was changed. Tsunade-sama won't even let us go out and look for them anymore since that information is classified. That and the whole Naruto incident two months ago. Jeez, that boy is hopeless."

The rosette giggled, tilting her head upwards to stare at the cloudy sky. Involuntarily, droplets of water began forming. "It's not fair. We're just sitting around here doing nothing at all. Why can't we help? They are out friends. It's just not fair."

"Sakura, you do realize the boys are here right? Do you want to let them see you cry?"

The medic shrugged, remembering her conversation with Naruto earlier. "It's okay to let others see moments of weakness every now and then." Larger tears began to form as she began to sob, hunching over to cover her face with her hands. Tenten remained neutral, still staring up at the sky, occasionally allowing a tear or two to slip by. She could feel their chakra presences, all of them. But she guessed Sakura was right, if they were curious about how the girls were taking it, she couldn't stop them from opening the Pandora 's Box that was a girl's emotions. And she was sure Sasuke was the one who dragged the others here, opting to show them what they were missing, as he had been watching them during their little breakdown sessions for some time now. She was just glad that he was finally showing an interest in Sakura's well-being.

As they watched the two girls sitting alone in quietness and trust, the boys all turned away in shame, not wanting to face the truth that their selfishness blinded their actions.

* * *

Just outside the gates of Konoha, two kunoichi staggered their way through the forest, desperately trying to stay alive. The blonde had her hair down, all long and choppy with a few streaks of grey painted on. Her purple attire was tattered and cut, nearly revealing her private areas to the public. There was dried blood all over her body and there was hardly a single place that was exempt from having a cut or a bruise. Her pale, cerulean blue eyes were sagging as she fought to remain conscious. She was relying heavily on her dark-haired companion, who was supporting both their weights as the blonde's legs were both broken. The other girl didn't look much better. Her skin and hair had the same type of damage, except her legs were still intact. She wore nothing but a bra and shorts, though the choice of clothing was probably not up to her since the shorts looked as if their original state had been altered. Her lack of coverage allowed everyone to see the large gash on her abdomen along with hand prints and bruises. Veins were sprouted around the young girl's pale eyes, allowing her sight, yet draining almost all of her energy. Yet she wouldn't give up. They had to get home.

"Ino-chan, you can't lose now! You have to stay awake. I can't do this all by myself," she whispered, dragging on slowly.

"I'm so sorry Hina-chan; I'm so weak. I've always been weak. You should just leave me, I'm slowing you down. I'll die anyways," Ino muttered, closing her eyes willing her inevitable fate to overcome her.

"No! Ino-chan, come on. We're almost there. Look, I can see the gates clearly now. We'll be able to get some help. Please, just hang on a little bit longer. I promise to you, we'll make it through this!" Hinata's frail voice echoed throughout the area.

"I wish I could see the gates. Hina-chan, there is no point anymore, to any of this. I can't be a kunoichi anymore. My sight has been robbed of me and both my legs are broken. There is nothing left for me besides death!"

"Stop it. We aren't blind; our eyes have just been locked. All we need is to have someone unbind them. And you're legs will heal in time. Come on, just don't give up. Look, only a little bit more to go. The people at the gate can see us already and they are coming for us. Please, you made a promise to me, and to the others. We have to stay alive!"

Ino's body began to grow limp just as Hinata collapsed on the ground. "I'm sorry Naruto-kun; I wasn't strong enough to make it all the way back," the Hyuuga whispered faintly before succumbing to the darkness that awaited her.

_A/N: Hey everybody. How did you like that? Kinda long I know, but I think it was a fairly decent start. In commemoration of beginning a new story, I've decided to add a new chapter to all my other stories. I know, I'm sorry for leaving them and always forgetting to update, but when you get a new idea it's hard to resist the urge to keep writing. And that's all I want to do, just keep writing. So anyways, please tell me how you liked it, if it was good or bad or whatever. And also, just to let you know, I chose Ino and Hinata because many people would think they would be the weakest right? But they aren't, and you'll see how in this story. There's a lot of friendship and suspense and romance and action and all that jazz so please keep reading, and I'll try to update as much as I can. Peace out homies ;)_

_-amarie-chan_


	2. Chapter 2

_There's a Hero in Me_

_A.N. Hey guys, sorry the progress is kind of slow right now, I've just been really busy. And also, sorry for making the pace in the beginning slow as well, but just bear with me. These first two chapters are absolutely crucial and hopefully you can pick up some clues and hints for what will happen in the future, or in this case, what has happened in the past. Also, keep in mind each character's words, actions and thoughts so that you can put together the bigger picture. God bless and enjoy!_

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Chapter two:

"Tsunade-sama! Open up! You have to come to the hospital right away! Tsunade-sama!"

The blonde leader of the village jerked her head up, looking around sleepily. Her office room was cluttered with paper and sake bottles. Books and scrolls littered the floor and the lights were off, giving the room a cool feel. The hokage wiped off the drool that was seeping down her chin as she straightened herself up, her head pounding from her recent hangover.

"Come in Shizune," she called out, grabbing a random sheet of paper and pretending to fill it out. The door burst open and in came a woman with short, dark hair, sweat dripping down the side of her face. A look of utter distress crossed her eyes as she ran up to the Hokage, panting.

"Tsunade-sama, you have to come quick. It's urgent," she cried, grabbing the blonde's arm and nearly dragging her out the door.

"Wait, hold on a minute! Shizune, what are you doing? Why are you in such a rush?" the village head asked, yanking her arm away from her assistant.

The other woman shook her head vigorously, opting to drag her without an explanation instead.

"Tell me what's going on!"

Shizune sighed, relenting her hold on her superior and looking down. "This morning, the guards at the gate found something, about twenty metres in front of the gate. It was on the ground unconscious and almost dead, so they brought them to the hospital. It turns out it was two girls identified to be Hyuuga Hinata and Yamanaka Ino."

Tsunade was silent, taking in the information slowly. "Does anyone else know about this?"

"No, I have directed the medics to keep their mouths shut, only until you give them permission to call their friends and families."

"Take me to them," the blonde ordered sternly, headache forgotten. She walked briskly out the door with Shizune in toe.

* * *

"Hey Ten-chan, Sasuke-kun," Sakura greeted her friends as they entered the hospital. "You didn't have to come pick me up you know. I can find my way to the restaurant on my own."

"Sa-chan, it's almost one, you're nearly an hour late," Tenten replied. "We were all waiting for you."

Sakura's eyes widened, "what? Are you serious?" She looked at her watch and nearly screamed. "I completely lost track of time! I'm so sorry; is everyone angry with me?" She pinned them a look of sincere regret and put the clipboard she was previously holding, down.

The brunette shrugged, chuckling lightly at her friend's ignorance. "Not really, but they got really bored of waiting and they all left."

The medic-nin groaned in disappointment. She hadn't had the time nor the energy to round up all her friends at once and just catch up, yet the one time she had finally succeeded in convincing them, she had completely forgotten about their scheduled meeting. She sighed, picking up her clipboard again and informing them that she was going to sign out; it was about time she took a break.

While Tenten ran after their pink friend to cheer her up and help gather her things, Sasuke looked around and observed the behaviours of the people in the hospital. Nothing noticeable seemed to be out of place, but he could feel the tension in the air as well as a slight over crowdedness. The patients were innocently up and about, just like any other day, but he seemed to recognize fatigue in several of the doctor's faces as well as their speedy, bustling strides up and a certain hallway, the ICU unit. Then again, he also noticed a few of the female nurses openly staring admiringly at his handsome face, taking in every chiselled detail. Inwardly, he sighed, praying for the other two to finish whatever they were doing quickly before he could be help captive by any of their irritating chatter.

"Okay, I'm ready to go," she announced just a few minutes later, though to Sasuke it felt like eons. "It's weird; I didn't even notice where the time went. When I first got here, it seemed like there was some kind of commotion going on, but then everything suddenly calmed down."

"A mission probably just ended," Uchiha reasoned, turning around to walk back out the doors. He decided to keep quiet about his observations at the moment; it was probably nothing for him to be concerned about. "Hurry up you two, or I'll leave you both behind. I promised the idiot I'd meet up with him after I came to find you."

Sakura laughed, "sorry! Come on Ten-chan, let's go before I get Sasuke-kun even more annoyed." Linking arms with the brunette, the two followed their stoic friend, starting up a conversation about Shikamaru's latest girlfriend.

The trio of friends took one step out of the building when Tenten was suddenly knocked over by someone, subsequently bringing Sakura down with her.

"Oh sorry Tenten-san, Sakura-chan. We're kind of in a hurry." It was Shizune. The brunette waved off her apology and the woman along with Tsunade went on their way, neither looking back.

"Well that was weird," Sakura said, staring after her mentor as Sasuke extended a hand to help Tenten up. "They seemed really...troubled."

"That's an understatement," the weapon mistress muttered, thanking Sasuke who then turned to help the other girl up. Dusting the dirt off her clothes, she turned to face them and continued on in a louder voice, "it probably has something to do with that commotion you mentioned earlier. Anyways, let's go; you can ask about it later." Sakura nodded in apprehensive agreement, but didn't let her thoughts linger as she ran to catch up to Sasuke who had silently walked ahead of them. Just as the hospital left their view she looked back, a strange, foreboding feeling creeping up in the back of her mind.

* * *

"Tsunade-sama! Thank goodness you are here," one of the head doctors cried in relief as the village head walked purposefully and solemnly into the room. She looked around; it was a spacious room with only one bed with a single patient on it, yet there were about 3 medics hovering over her with another four nurses running in and out of the room frantically. The curtains were pulled in, creating a slightly translucent wall that prevented most of the sun's rays from entering. It was slightly dim, the window providing just enough light for the doctors to operate comfortably on their patient. The white walls of this particular room were barely noticeable as equipment upon equipment lined the perimeter and the white sheets of the bed were dirtied with blood and mud. However, all that aside, the thing that stood out to her the most was the girl lying in the hospitable bed, her long, dirty blonde hair fanned out around her head like a halo. Yamanaka Ino.

Rushing over to the bed, several personnel stepped back to let her do her work. The hokage looked over the girl's body. From what she could roughly see, a couple of ribs were broken as well as the girl's long, slender legs. Bruises covered her once smooth skin from head to toe and large gashes were shown up along her torso. Her hair was cut strangely while some pieces were visibly turning grey. Her face and limbs were ghostly pale and abnormally skinny, looking as if she had not eaten for several days now. Something seemed slightly off about her form, but Tsunade couldn't put her finger on it. Lastly, she noticed that the girl was having a hard time breathing, using an oxygen mask to help support her depleted lungs.

The blonde sannin bit back the tears attempting to form in her eyes, trying not to think of her involvement in this incident; trying not to admit that the whole mission was her fault.

"Kazuya, give me the update on Yamanaka-san's current status, who had found her and what her state, situation and last words were before losing consciousness. Narumi, find Jiraiya quickly and make sure you tell no one of this sudden revelation. Himeko, bring me the status sheet of Hyuuga Hinata-san as well as her room number; I will be there shortly to do an inspection on her as well."

With each order, the doctor's in the room gave out a nervous "hai" and fled, performing their menial tasks quickly and efficiently. The first medic mentioned quickly informed his superior of the current happenings with the missing blonde, providing the names of the guards who had found her as well as every single minute description of their sudden encounter. Tsunade listened attentively, nodding when needed but for the most part, staying silent. This information was absolutely crucial for her work ahead. When he had finished, she dismissed him just as Narumi came dashing into the room with her old teammate.

"Oi, what's this about? Did you really want to see me that badly?" he asked teasingly, walking forward to give her a much unneeded hug. However he stopped in midstep just as the patient lying in the hospital bed came into view. Paling considerably, he dropped his arms and gave her a stern, questioning look.

"Tsunade-sama," Himeko squeaked, coming back into the room. "Here is the information on Hyuuga-san." The Hokage nodded silently, motioning for Jiraiya and Shizune to follow her to Hinata's room.

"When were they found?" the pervert asked quietly as they passed by several nurses who were making their way back to Ino's room. He didn't even glance their way, proving the severity of the situation at hand.

"Just this morning," the Hokage whispered back, flipping through Hinata's folder and swiftly eyeballing all the facts presented. When they reached the Hyuuga's room, the village head quickly kicked out all the medics in the room, shutting the door behind her. This hospital room was a mirror image of Ino's, slightly dark and dreary with machines covering the walls and blood and mud staining all the white surfaces. Hinata herself looked in no better condition than Ino did. Though, none of her bones seemed to be broken, she too was covered in bruises and cuts with a particularly nasty wound shown horizontally across her abdomen, still gushing out a lot of blood. Her skin too was sickly white and she was wheezing heavily. On her neck were bruises of handprints, as though someone had tried to repeatedly strangle her and her chakra was almost completely gone, yet her byakugan was still operating even while she was unconscious.

"What are you planning on doing Tsunade?" Jiraiya asked, walking across the room to lean against the window. The Hokage moved closer to the bed to sit in the visitor's chair while Shizune worked to clean up and bandage the wound on her stomach.

"I'll have to wait until they come to," she muttered, more to herself than to her companion. "After that, they'll need to debrief me on their mission and then after that, the choice is up to them. I will honestly hold nothing against them if they wish to renounce their title as a shinobi."

"That's not what I meant and you know it," he replied in a stern voice. "What and when are you going to tell the gaki and his friends?"

The blonde visibly stiffened. "I don't think it'd be wise to tell them just yet, especially with these two in their current conditions. There is no telling what Naruto might do."

Her teammate scrutinized her with a disapproving stare but said nothing. He knew, on some level, that she was right.

"In the meantime, we'll have to make sure we can fix what was broken," she announced, almost listlessly. With Jiraiya still in the room, Tsunade ordered Shizune to do several tasks, forcing her in and out of the room tirelessly. From what Tsunade could see upon further inspection, there was something wrong with the girl's eyes, something completely wrong with the blood flow.

When her assistant came back in, she immediately set her off to another task. "Shuzune, get me Hyuuga Hiashi, quickly." The woman nodded briskly and turned around to do what was asked of her, but suddenly did a double take.

She gulped, "what should I tell him Tsunade-sama?"

"Inform him that his daughter has come home, but to keep it on the down low for now," she replied absent-mindedly, ignorant to the growing distress on her assistant's face.

"H-hai," she replied shakily, slightly afraid of what the clan head would say to her when she revealed the state of his eldest daughter and potential heiress. When the two were alone, a tense silence engulfed them, but Tsunade tried to ignore the silent nagging from her companion, one that told her she would have to let the cat out of the bag sooner or later. However Tsunade refused to give in, and Jiraiya decided to take a different approach: the head on tactic.

"You were in contact with them weren't you?" he asked bluntly, watching his long time friend's anxious movements. He, along with everyone else in the village, was in the dark about the exact contents of the mission assigned to the two young kunoichi. The only exceptions were the Hokage herself and the parents of both parties involved. However, all people mentioned were sworn to absolute secrecy, no information was to ever be allowed to leak out.

"Obviously not," the blonde snapped grumpily, "how could I have any ways to speak with them; I had no clue of their whereabouts."

"Don't lie to me," he retorted, piercing her with a rare glare, "I can see right through you."

Tsunade sighed and stopped the blue glow of her palm, rounding on her friend in front of her. "This is all classified information, Jiraiya. You of all people should know the importance of keeping a secret."

The comment stung, but the toad sage was undeterred. "Then why am I here?"

The hokage recoiled slightly before turning her attention back on to her patient. "I have some questions I need to ask you," she replied absently, "but not just yet. I will wait until these girls wake up. For now, I want you to look at their conditions. I noticed it briefly with Ino, but I would like to confirm it now that I can properly inspect Hinata."

Before she could continue, his sharp voice cut her off. "When they regain consciousness, will you then inform Naruto and the others of their return?"

Tsunade hesitated and Jiraiya raised his eyebrows. Sighing, she nodded curtly then proceeded to change the subject. "I have found something wrong with their eyes; for some reason, Hinata's optic nerves are disallowing any connection to her brain and it looks as if there is some kind of coating over her pupils. However, chakra is still able to flow through, as shown by her byakugan, yet it is still a mystery as to how the jutsu is operating with the girl unconscious."

"And you think her eyes have been sealed." It wasn't a question. Straightening himself from his leaning position against the wall, he took a step closer to the bed, opposite the side Tsunade was working on.

"I haven't found anything yet, but I'm guessing the seal is at the back of her neck. However, I cannot move her body in case I dislocate any of her bones or damage her body more so than it already is."

Jiraiya nodded, taking a closer look at the girl's eyes by lifting the eyelids. Her pupiless eyes were slightly rolled back, but the sage could still see the cloudiness that covered them; almost as if there was a blanket of mucus over top. With one look he could already determine the complexity of this particular seal, something someone of low calibre would be able to accomplish. Whoever did this knew a great deal about what he was doing.

"Well, one thing's for sure," the toad sannin finally voiced causing the Hokage to turn to him expectantly, "when the girl wakes up, she won't be able to see a thing. This is one particularly strong seal and I'm not even sure I would be able to break it myself without killer her."

Tsunade didn't say anything, not sure whether her reaction should be guilt or sorrow. As much as she didn't want to admit it, this was all her fault and she knew it. If only she had realized her mistake sooner, maybe Naruto and others would have reached them on time. If only she had tried harder to insist they come home in her second, third, fourth letters. If only she didn't push them so hard and pressuring them with the importance of this mission. "If only" doesn't solve anything.

"For now, we should just work towards making them well enough to wake up," she finally muttered, more to herself than Jiraiya. She moved closer to the bed and pumped a steady stream of blue chakra to her palms working her way around the visible bruises and cuts, attempting to close them first before working on what was broken.

* * *

"Sakura-chan!" Tenten shouted enthusiastically beside Kiba, trying to get her friend's attention. The two sat outside on a random park bench, lazing around on their free time.

"Hey guys," Sakura replied, coming closer. Kiba merely nodded in greeting, barely taking his eyes off Akamaru who was chasing after a bright blue butterfly, his large body shaking the earth with each step. As he skidded from one area of the park to another, children laughed and pointed, stopping their activities to watch the funny dog play. "What are you two doing?"

"We both had a day off today so I called Kiba out to hang out with me. I didn't know you didn't have anything to do either, I would have called you too," Tenten informed her brightly, swinging her legs underneath the bench as if she were on the swings.

Sakura smiled and sat down on the other side of Kiba, leaning forward to look at her best friend. "Yeah, Tsunade-shishou has been very busy; I've hardly seen her all week and for some reason, I haven't been given any hours at the hospital lately."

Kiba looked confused, "You haven't been given work? For a whole week?" He exchanged a weird look with Tenten while Sakura's smile faltered.

"Yeah, why?"

Suddenly, Akamaru stopped running and barking, turning toward the group and looking straight behind them, alert and ready to defend. Kiba's ears twitched and all three shinobi turned around, just to catch sight of a puff of smoke with an individual making himself visible from within it.

"Haruno Sakura, Tenten, Inuzuka Kiba, the three of you have been summoned to Hokage-sama's office. Please come immediately," Kakashi-sensei announced, all seriousness present on his face. This wasn't the first time Sakura saw his sensei actually doing his work, but for some reason, a strong sense of foreboding reached the depths of her core and shook her to the point of fear. Something was not right.

The three chunnin exchanged glances before turning back to their sensei and nodding. Immediately, all four plus one dog took off in the direction of the tower seen in the distance that belonged to the Hokage.

* * *

"Ino-san, Hinata-san, please! The two of you are not well enough to be omitted from the hospital yet. It has only been a week; you're wounds have not fully healed," Shizune reasoned desperately, slamming her palms onto the Hokage's desk in an almost angry manner, starring at the two kunoichi sitting impatiently in front of her.

"It doesn't matter, we're going back there. We still have something we need to do," Ino countered fiercely albeit calmly. Shizune bit back her surprise and looked at her master for assistance. Tsunade merely sat there, starring calculatingly at the pair. They seemingly stared back, but she knew only one could actually see her with the byakugan activated. She had no clue what on earth was going on in their heads and was equally as clueless as to how the two were even able to stand up given their critical conditions earlier that week.

"It's impossible!" Again Shizune tried to convince them out of whatever they were planning, but the two kunoichi were pretty adamant. While Ino did most of the talking, Hinata still continued to sit there defiantly, yet to say something.

"No matter what you say, we're still going, even if you have to brand us as missing nin," Ino once again retorted coldly. She crossed her arms and turned her head to look out the window, glancing briefly at Jiraiya who sat by the window as quietly as Hinata. "And we don't need anyone's help," she added softly.

"Clearly you do need help, considering what happened last time," Tsunade finally decided to cut in. She may have been willing to let the two go back, but not without backup.

Ino's pale eyes flared immediately and she stood up abruptly, knocking over her chair. "What the hell do you know? You weren't there, you didn't experience what we did," she said, her voice still calm though the temperature in the room seemed to drop a full ten degrees. Her face was blank but her anger was evident. "Don't act as if you know everything, because clearly, you didn't know what would happen when you sent us on that mission."

Tsunade's face paled and if she didn't feel so guilty, she would have let her anger seep through. The room was tensely quiet, no one saying anything to counter that statement. Not even Shizune could defend her teacher, staring nervously back and forth between her and her own student in front of her. Surprisingly, the one who did manage to speak up allowed her quiet voice to ring aloud in the room.

"Ino-chan, they're here," Hinata voiced. Ino turned back to her friend then closed her eyes, as if it would help her concentrate her hearing better. The action, however, was unneeded, for even without concentrating, the loud voices could still be heard behind the large doors.

"Naruto! Stop it, we have to wait for Shizune to allow us in," came the unmistakable voice of Kakashi-sensei.

"Shut up! I want to know what's going on; why were all of us called here? And I've been so restless; Baa-chan hasn't given me any missions lately. I'm all fired up!" Naruto shouted back. Some rattling and banging could be heard on the other side of the doors.

"Baka!" the voice of Sakura shouted menacingly, and Tsunade had a mental picture of Naruto with a large, throbbing bump on his head. "You can't just barge in there without permission. You're as rude as ever."

"Dobe," three different voices said at once and nervous laugher was heard.

"What did you say teme?"

"You do realize it wasn't only Sasuke-kun who said that right?" Tenten sighed.

"Naruto-kun, calm down. It is unyouthful of you to pick a fight right outside our Hokage's office."

"Can we just go in already? We've been standing out here forever."

"No! Naruto stop, wait..!"

All eyes turned to the door that was being opened behind them, Tsunade sighing with annoyance. Ino and Hinata's faces were wiped blank, their blank eyes holding no betraying emotions. Shizune merely sat there stunned at the random turn of events and Jiraiya had yet to make a sound, though there was a mischievous twinkle in his eyes.

From behind the door emerged a blonde mop of hair, blue eyes flaring with excitement. Following him were the rest of his friends and teachers, nervously standing well behind him, fearing the wrath of the Hokage for their sudden intrusion.

"Yo Baa-chan! What's with the hold-up? We've been wai – ." He stopped abruptly taking in the faces of the people in the room.

"Hinata?"

_A.N. Sorry for the wait everyone. Again, I apologize for the slow beginning, but don't worry, it'll pick up from here. I had this chapter pretty much finished for a while; I had gotten up to the end of the hospital scene but I've been busy with school and such that I hadn't had time to finish the rest. So here it is. Tell me what you think. Peace ! _


	3. Chapter 3

_There's a Hero in Me_

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Chapter three:

The room was deadly quiet as the intervening group stood in wide-eyed shock at the people inside. No one, not even Naruto, could find their tongue and break the silence. It was too much of a surprise to be real; could Hinata and Ino finally be home?

Tsunade took a brief glance at each individual face present. Both Naruto and Kiba had on similar looks of speechlessness, their eyes displaying a whole array of conflicting emotions. Sasuke and Shino were seemingly indifferent while Neji looked rather confused. Lee and Choji were simply elated, Shikamaru guarded and Sakura and Tenten unreadable. All in all the group had nothing to say, not even sure whether or not to believe the sight in front of them.

Kakashi cleared his throat uncomfortably hoping to alleviate the rising tension in the room and signal someone, anyone, to break the silence. Once again, the one to speak up was as surprising as the words that had come out of her mouth.

"Naruto-san, it is very rude of you to interrupt us in the middle of our conversation," Hinata said coldly, turning to look away from him, "we would appreciate it if you all would leave the room and mind your own business."

In a second, a kunai was pressed to the Hyuuga princess' throat menacingly while wild, fox-like eyes glared daggers at the Hokage, causing several gasps to arise.

"Don't touch me Uzumaki," Hinata whispered in deadly agitation.

"Naruto, what do you think you're..?"

"Baa-chan," the demon-container cut in slowly, his voice quivering with every syllable, "who is this impersonator and why does she look like Hinata-chan?"

Tsunade didn't have an answer; the sheer look of hatred was enough to silence her completely. Suddenly, Naruto jumped back swiftly to dodge the kick aimed directly for his abdomen as Ino positioned herself in front of Hinata protectively.

"Thank you Ino-chan," she murmered almost wordlessly and the taller blonde nodded in understanding.

"I assure you Uzumaki Naruto," Ino's voice rang out almost mockingly, "that we are no illusion or fakes. We have finally come home."

Naruto still looked on disbelievingly. This wasn't possible; there strangers weren't the friends he once called Ino and Hinata. They were colder, less familiar.

At this point, Tsunade finally found that it was time to intervene. "That's enough Naruto. The girls are right, you shouldn't have barged into my office like that, but since you've already seen them, you all might as well stay. This concerns you as well."

"No it doesn't!" Ino cut in, turning back to the direction she assumed was the Hokage. She narrowed her pale, unseeing eyes and took a step forwards. "Tsunade, this concerns no one else besides me and Hinata-chan! Please do not bring unnecessary people into the situation."

The Hokage pounded her fist on her desk, a vien popping at Ino's lack of respect, though she didn't address it. "Ino, as long as you are a kunoichi of Konoha you will follow my orders. I am allowing you to go back there as you see fit but I will definitely not allow you to go alone. That is my final word."

The blonde looked as if she were about to argue but Hinata placed her hand on Ino's arm, shaking her head in a 'that's enough' gesture. The girl sighed in annoyance and nodded, bringing the chair back upright to sit obediently.

Sakura stared at them with mixed feelings, bringing her own hand up to clutch at Tenten's sleeve. It was scaring her at how different these two acted; it was like they were completely different people, while at the same time they were exactly who had left them. She couldn't be mistaken; those were her best friend's sitting in front of them, taciturn and indifferent. But what on earth happened to them during those six months they were gone?

"Kurenai, please close the door firmly behind you. We cannot have anybody listening in to this conversation," Tsunade commanded authoritatively. "Everyone else, come closer into the room and please listen quietly to what we have to tell you. And Naruto, no interruptions please; if you want to know what's going on then just stand there like a good boy. That goes for all of you as well."

The group nodded in understanding, but there were many of them who couldn't stand still. Several of them just wanted to run up to the two missing kunoichi and hug them or bombard them with questions, but with the sudden personality changes, the two seemed unapproachable.

"Now," the Hokage began, rubbing her temples in a soothing motion, "I've called you all here today because Ino and Hinata have requested a mission and I would like all of you to provide them with back up."

Tenten's eyes twitched in surprise. A mission? These girls just got back from who knows where and they already want to be sent out again? Her chocolate brown eyes scanned the back of her friends' heads wondering they were possibly thinking.

"As you all know, these two were sent on a recon mission several months ago to seduce and extract information from an old man named Kimura Hayate. Kimura had been stirring up some trouble around Kumogakure recently and I sent Ino and Hinata there to find out exactly what he had been up to. However, we suddenly received a tipoff that Kimura had been using BZ, an incapacitating agent, to render females unconscious and kidnap them, forcing them to... do various things for him." Tsunade faltered, hoping that she chose the right words. She knew that if Naruto or Shikamaru or any other of these boys found out what had actually happened to the girls, a lot of blood would be shed. Unfortunately, the pineapple haired genius decided to point out what she had desperately tried to hide.

"What kinds of _things_ Hokage-sama?" Shikamaru asked calmly, speaking up for the first time since those doors had opened. He still had his doubts on whether these girls were really Ino and Hinata, however deep down he knew the truth. There was no mistake.

The godaime hesitated, unsure of what to say. However Ino cut in smoothly.

"There's nothing to be afraid of _Hokage-sama_," she laughed humourlessly, turning around to glare sharply at the group behind her. Sakura gasped quietly and wondered if the rest of the group was seeing what she was seeing; Shikamaru probably saw it, but if he did, he made no indication of surprise. Ino's once bright blue eyes were pale and lifeless; Ino was blind. "If these _people_ are coming with us on this mission," she spat, "they might as well prepare themselves for what's coming for them. After all, it was your idea they come for back up. The truth is we were taken to a whore house."

This time, collective gasps were sounded around the room. Shikamaru clenched his fists, his whole body trembling. Naruto as well seemed to be using every single ounce of willpower he possessed to keep him standing in the spot he stood. Tenten and Neji, on the other hand, did not have the strength Naruto seemed to have, leaving the former on the ground in shock. The latter came forward and slammed his palms down firmly onto the Hokage's desk and Tsunade couldn't help but briefly worry about whether the wood was finally starting to crack after all that pounding.

"What is the meaning of this Hokage-sama," he growled. "How could you let the heir to the Hyuuga clan, or any kunoichi for that matter, be subjected to such shame and humiliation? Does Hiashi-sama know of any of this or Inoichi-san? How could you let this happen?"

"Neji!" Gai-sensei walked forward and placed his large hands on his pupil's shoulder's, trying to lead him away from the village head.

"I said no interruptions," Tsunade tried to sound authoritative, but it came out little more than a whimper. The Hyuuga prodigy just voiced out every fear that was crossing her mind at the moment, almost as if he was reading her like an open book.

Once again, Ino intervened. From where she stood, she manoeuvred her way around her seat, letting her fingers trail the arm rest slowly. "For your information, my father and the Hyuuga head are both very well aware of the details of our mission; however they have both acknowledged that this is the work of a kunoichi, no matter how horrible it may seem. This is the life we have chosen for ourselves and you have no right to pity us in any way. We can take care of ourselves, seeing as we had managed to find our own way back home earlier this week."

The hokage's breath hitched in her throat as she saw several murderous glances turn her way, the small implications noted. Naruto was about to question just how long the girls had been there and why no one bothered to call for them the minute they arrived, however the words fell on dead lips as Hinata spoke up.

"Look," she said quietly, though her voice seemed to resonate in the room. She, too, stood up and turned to look at them, Byakugan activated. Neji slightly wondered why she would bother wasting the chakra and Naruto's heart dropped at the emotionless, Neji-like expression upon her face, as cold and unfeeling as her voice. "As Ino-chan has already informed you, this is none of your business. The events of the last mission are of no concern to you and if you cannot respect the confidentiality clause then you might as well just leave right now."

Ino picked up where she left off, walking straight for the group and stopped right beside Shikamaru, neither looking up nor acknowledging his presence. He too stood face forward, small beads of sweat cascading down his face. "That mission is over and done with, and I can promise you this. That hell-hole was no walk in the park, but we made it out of there alive and relatively unharmed, so just drop it. We have a new mission to attend to and if you're not going to bother to listen then that's fine by me. Come, don't come; I don't really give a damn as long as we're on our way before sundown. So if you all do decide to tag along, meet us at the gate by 6:00. Now, if you all don't mind, I'm out of here. I'm tired of listening to this nonsensical waste of time."

With that, she pushed her way past Choji, though Sakura wasn't sure she had meant to literally push him or if it was because she couldn't initially see him. The blonde stalked out of the room and shut the door behind her with a bang. The medic nin suddenly felt the urge to run after her best friend in a desperate attempt to look for the girl she once knew. She took a small step forward, but was stopped by Hinata's soft voice.

"Sakura-san, wait."

Sakura stopped and looked back expectantly. She couldn't help but feel at least a little hopeful.

"Tenten-san, please pay attention as well, for this concerns you just as much as it does Sakura-san."

All eyes were turned to the two kunoichi now, as the brunette stood up from her position on the ground. She walked to stand levelled with Sakura and once again, the medic clutched at her best friend's sleeve.

"Hai?" Sakura asked, in a small voice that she herself didn't even recognise.

"I am advising you right now. Don't come," her voice was like ice and had seemed to cause their blood to run cold. "That place isn't for the light hearted, and even those with an iron will would tremble at the sight. You will only be a burden on the rest of us, especially Ino-chan and I."

Naruto's eyes widened. No way had Hinata just said that. The Hyuuga girl just dipped her head low, letting her bangs cover her face as the rest of her friends stared in shock. She was tired of being treated like a zoo animal. She began making her way to the door, the way Ino had rudely departed and hoping to leave with her cold words hanging in the air. Through her Byakugan induced eyes, she could faintly see the hunched outline of Sakura, desperately holding in tears. She made it halfway across the room and was almost out the door when an arm caught her on the way out. She looked up in mild surprise at Tenten's smiling face in front of her. Hinata raised an eyebrow, but the brunette couldn't seem to hold in her grin.

"Thank you, Hina-chan," she said softly, eyeing the way the younger girl flinched at her old nickname. "Thank you for worrying about us." Even though the girl didn't outright say it, Tenten knew she was genuinely concerned for her friends' well beings; she could finally see some of the old Hinata shining through.

"We know you want to protect us Hina-chan," Sakura managed to say through sniffles, a shy smile gracing her own face. "But we can take care of ourselves. It's not like we just lazed around all day during those five months you were gone. We're coming with you no matter what."

Everyone was silent after that little speech, and Hinata gazed at them emotionlessly. Without another word, she jerked her arm out of Tenten's hold and stalked out of the room, slamming the door behind her. Her reaction only proved that the girls were correct in their assumption, and a large wave of relief crashed onto Naruto, who eyed the door as if contemplating whether to run after her, just as Sakura had almost done to Ino. However, he decided to give her a little space at the moment, he could tell that the girls' actions just now annoyed her a little. Instead he turned to Tsunade and asked about the mission.

"Ne, Baa-chan, where exacting are we going?" he asked, and the group's attention shifted back to their village head. She hesitated, and he could visibly see her flinch.

"I...er... I don't really know," she admitted truthfully and Sasuke raised an eyebrow elegantly.

"What do you mean?" he asked cautiously.

Once again, she hesitated, as if calculating their reaction first. "I don't know exactly where you will be going. Hinata and Ino should know the way, but they didn't give me an exact location."

"Wait, are we going to wherever Hinata-san and Ino-san were taken?" Lee asked, clearly having not put the pieces together earlier.

Tsunade nodded slowly and once again Naruto flared up. "What? Why would we bring them back there? Don't they want to forget about everything that's happened over the past five months? Why would you make them go back?"

"Shut up Naruto!" the Hokage thundered, "I already said so before, Ino and Hinata requested this mission, it wasn't my idea. They want to go back to free all the other women who are being held captive there."

That shut Naruto up. He nodded weakly and the group once again fell silent. Tsunade sighed in annoyance, wondering if this day would ever end. "I'm leaving Naruto in charge of this mission got it? And you heard Ino right? 6:00 at the gates. Don't be late or I assure you, she will leave you. You're all dismissed."

"Wait!" Tenten spoke up. "Why isn't Kakashi-sensei or any of the other sensei leading this mission? Not that I don't trust Naruto-kun's judgement, but..."

"I have another mission for your teachers," the Hokage informed them. "Now everyone, get out of my office! Kakashi, Kurenai, Asuma, Gai. I'll call you all back here this evening. Right now, I need a drink."

All shinobi present nodded, albeit reluctantly, and filed out of the room, leaving only Shizune and Jiraiya left with the village head.

"Well, that went better than expected," Shizune mumbled sarcastically and Tsunade pulled out her secret bottle of sake hidden in one of the drawers of her desk, not even caring if her assistant could fully confiscate it.

"I told you not to keep it from them," Jiraiya muttered, speaking for the first time since the group arrived, and the blonde glared loathingly at him. However, instead of answering, she chose to ignore him and down two shots in the span of ten seconds.

When he figured he wouldn't get an answer from her regarding her previous silence, he continued. "In any case, are you sure they'll be alright by themselves?"

Tsunade poured herself another shot and downed it in an instant, filling up her next glass. "I have faith in them. If they can't do it, then this may very well lead to another shinobi war."

"How optimistic," the toad sage muttered sardonically.

"I'm only stating the truth."

Jiraiya snorted, "maybe you should have informed them of the consequences _before_ you dismissed them. Or even sent Kakashi with them, at least."

"No, I need Kakashi and the others. You know that. And you know what you have to do right?" she glared at him pointedly and he sighed.

"Hai hai!"

He leapt out of the room through the window and dashed out of sight. When he was finally gone, Tsunade instructed Shizune to go to the hospital to check up some of her patients and find out if the doctors were all doing their jobs. When she was finally alone, she sighed heavily and poured herself yet another glass. She swivelled in her chair and stared off into the distance, the sun high up in the sky lighting up her whole village. Her eyes drooped low and she swallowed the sake in her hand, murmuring quietly to herself.

"Immortality, huh?"

* * *

_(A/N: By the way, just in case you didn't notice, the only people who know that Ino and Hinata are now blind are the grownups of course, and Sakura. I don't know about Shikamaru yet, but probably not; I think I should give him a better emotional response to the revelation. Anyways, back to the story.)_

Surprisingly enough, Naruto was the first one at the gate. However, it wasn't by accident or because of absentmindedness. He wanted to see if he could catch Hinata and Ino before the others came; but, much to his dismay, the girls were nowhere in sight. He sighed and set down his pack beside a nearby rock, sitting down in the process. He shut his eyes and went over what had happened that day; one of the most important people in his life found her way back to him and he had not said a word to her, besides when he all out attacked her. But she changed, a lot. He couldn't help but to admit that it scared him; Hinata was the single nicest, most amazing person he had ever met and now she was like a block of ice sculpted in her image. There had never been anything that hurt him more than this; he simply wished, more than ever, that he could go back in time and save her from everything that had happened to her. Ino too.

Of course, he hadn't been as close to the blonde girl as he was Hinata, but she was still a treasured friend, and they would hang out together when there was nothing else to do. Granted, she had always been a little mean to him in their academy days, however, as they grew up and grew closer, the two began to develop a friendly, almost sibling-like bond. A bond very unlike what he and Hinata had, a bond a lot less passionate.

Seeing the both of them like this merely fuelled his need to bash the men who kidnapped his friends into bloody little pieces.

"Naruto-kun, you're early," Tenten called, as she and Sakura approached the man, who barely registered their presence to spare even a wave. The two girls shared a look as more of their friends began to show up. The last person to arrive with just a minute to spare was a worn-out Lee who looked like he just ran a marathon before coming to meet them; however Hinata and Ino were still nowhere to be seen.

"They tell us not to be late, and they themselves don't even arrive on time," Kiba grumbled to his oversized dog when a female voice suddenly startled him from behind.

"We said we would leave at exactly 6:00 Inuzuka; there would be no need for us to come any earlier than that." Ino announced, jumping down from the tree right behind him. The young man let out a startled yelp, tripping over his feet. "And besides, we were here this whole time."

Finally, Naruto showed signs of comprehension. He raised his head slightly, and finally noticed that the whole group was there, their backs to him. Had they been there even when he arrived?

"Yes we have, we just hadn't show ourselves until now."

Naruto almost toppled over at Hinata's soft voice beside him. He didn't even hear her approach him.

"Hina-chan?"

"We saw you come, but it was unnecessary for us to show ourselves. We still had much to discuss with each other."

Naruto blinked, forgetting what he had been thinking up until that point at the sudden appearance of his friend. Then he suddenly remembered. How did she know what he was thinking?

"You're speaking out loud Naruto-san," she replied stoically, no hint of amusement in her voice.

Once again, Naruto blinked. Had he spoken aloud without even noticing it? He was sure that he would hear his own voice if he was actually voicing his thoughts.

"Hina..."

"Come on captain," she murmured, walking forward toward the group, and he suddenly noticed that her Byakugan was deactivated for the first time since she returned. "Assemble your team quickly. We must leave at once"

He was about to protest; he wanted to talk to her a little longer. However, she gave him a chilling stare just as he was about to grab her arm and he decided that the safer route would be to do as she said.

"Alright everybody, listen up," Naruto called out, and everyone turned to him expectantly. He truly was becoming very much like the next hokage. "We have quite a long way to go, up north to Kumogakure. We will be avoiding Oto of course, and we should maybe ferry across the water to get there faster. As of now, on foot, it will probably take a week."

"No, we cannot travel by water," Ino cut in. "We travel up until we reach the coast then follow the coastline. That will be the safest route."

"What are you talking about?" Kiba asked, "That will take even longer. We have all travelled by ferry before, and besides, even if you wanted to stay on land, we might as well just cut straight through instead of following the coast. I thought you wanted to get there as fast as you could."

Ino threw him a dirty look as if to provoke him to contradict her even more. However, he recoiled and looked to Naruto for support.

"Err..." he stuttered, at a loss for words. Ino too turned to Naruto and behind the hardened glare, he recognized a look of warning. Signing, he resumed his speech.

"Okay, we will follow Ino's instructions. She is technically the client here, plus she is more familiar with the mission details and terrain. She will be a far better guide than me. Our goal will still be to arrive within a week, so we will be travelling the full seven days straight, only stopping for lunch each day and at nightfall to rest. We will leave again at sunrise. Does anyone have a problem with that?"

"Naruto..." Sakura began, then trailed off. She didn't think he realized that Ino and Hinata were blind; after all, the two acted perfectly normal. However, she was afraid that all the travel would wear them out. When her teammate turned to her, she was about to continue but Hinata interrupted her.

"Ino-chan and I have no problems with your arrangement Naruto-san. Therefore, we will greatly appreciate it if we left now so as to not waste any time."

The team leader nodded, then turned back to Sakura as if caught between leaving already and listening to what she had to say. The rosette frowned and shook her head, implying that she had no objections. Naruto raised an eyebrow and knew she still had something she wanted to say. However Ino and Hinata had already begun running down the trail and the rest of the group had no other choice but to quickly follow.

Sakura stayed back a little with Tenten and Shikamaru waiting for her.

"What's wrong Sa-chan?" the weapon mistress questioned and once again Sakura shook her head. If could have been her imagination, but when Hinata spoke to Naruto, she seemed to be looking directly at her instead. As if she knew what Sakura was thinking.

_A/N: Hey guys, sorry for the wait. Here's chapter three. I hope you won't mind if there's any typos or spelling errors. I know it was a little boring, and it took me forever to write, but I will try to pick it up from now on. I've just been really busy with school, especially since exams are coming up. Please tell me what you think, and also read my new story __Infinity__. I assure you, it will be a good one. So yeah, I've given you the basics of what happened last time, but of course, that's not the whole story. Plus there are little hints and implications for what will happen in the later in the story and all questions will be answered in due time. Thanks for reading._

_-amarie-chan=)_


	4. Chapter 4

_There's a Hero in Me_

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

_A/N: Hey guys. Finally updating after who knows how long. Sorry, final year has been majorly stressful, but I'm back in my game and here's the next chapter. I know that I'm taking forever to get to the actual plot, but don't worry, I'm getting there. These scenes may seem like filler, but they are actually important and provide some ironic implications. They are also there to establish who the characters are now, how much they have changed and how their relationships to each other have grown. So without further ado, on the story._

Chapter four:

By nightfall, the group had stopped as scheduled. They had been travelling for nearly four hours straight when Ino and Hinata finally agreed to let them rest. They worked quickly and efficiently, half of them pitching up three tents while the other half went to look for firewood and any available clean water. Hinata and Ino had kept their distance from everyone else, the latter pitching up their own separate tent while the former went to look for food.

When Naruto noticed the Hyuuga girl leave camp, he silently crept away to follow her, leaving Shikamaru and Lee to finish setting up the tent they were to share. Sakura smiled slightly as she saw him leave out of the corner of her eye. She knew he was trying to be slick about it, but he was about as inconspicuous as a bloody arm in a hospital. However, she just let him pass her without so much as a word; this was something he had to do on his own.

Meanwhile, Tenten walked absentmindedly through the foliage, her eyes darting left and right just to be safe. She knew they were safe for the meantime, but it wouldn't hurt to check the surrounding area. However, their protection wasn't the only thing on her mind as she dashed out into an open clearing. She was trying to avoid Neji as much as possible. Tenten hadn't talked to the Hyuuga prodigy since that night he told her to leave his room and as much as she wanted to see him, her pride just wouldn't let her. She knew she was being stubborn, but Shikamaru's words that day had stung her more than she cared to admit. _Earlier you mentioned that Neji can't expect you to just drop everything for him; but the thing is: he doesn't. You do that all on your own, he doesn't ask for it._ At those words, even though she knew it was purely out of spite, she couldn't stop the humiliation from filling her up. And she wouldn't let it happen again.

"Tenten-chan?"

Tenten whipped around, a kunai already out and in her hand, ready to strike down whoever had crept up on her. When she saw who it was, she signed in relief and tucked it in her holster.

"Kiba-kun, Choji-kun," she said with a wry smile.

Kiba raised an eyebrow. "What's up? You don't seem like yourself right now."

"Nothing important, just some things on my mind." She gave them each a once over. Kiba, built and rugged as ever, smiled toothily, the triangles on his cheeks crinkling with his eyes. He had a long stick with some string attached to the end in one hand and six or seven wriggling fish in the other. Choji, who had begun eating again, albeit a good healthy amount, was carrying large logs of wood that nobody but him or Sakura would have been able to carry on their own. Perched on the top of the pile sat three rabbits, tied and bleeding from a clean, painless death. Both shinobi had proud looks on their faces.

"Wow, good job guys. You got us some food really fast!" Tenten congratulated them, a genuine smile making its way onto her features.

Kiba puffed out his chest and Choji chuckled sheepishly with a blush. "Of course, I'm a hunter after all. I can catch anything," Kiba boasted.

"Whatever man, I was the one who got the game. All you did was fish," Choji snorted and Kiba scoffed in protest.

"Well, I probably could have caught double that! But you told me to man the fishing pole," Kiba retorted and Tenten laughed, a sound that seemed slightly foreign in the vast spaces of the clearing. And suddenly, all three felt a slight weight lift from their shoulders.

When the laughter died down, Kiba put down the fish and fishing pole and sat down on a large tree stump in the middle of the clearing. He motioned for his companions to follow suit and Tenten willingly complied, glad that her friends were there to take her mind off of things.

"So are you going to tell us what's really on your mind, or are you planning on lying again?" he asked. _Or maybe not_, Tenten thought and groaned.

"It's nothing really. There has just been a lot of stuff that has happened lately, and I really don't know how I should take it," Tenten answered with considerable truthfulness.

Choji dropped his logs with a loud thump and plopped down on the stump as well. "If you're referring to Hinata and Ino, I know what you mean. Ino scares me even more now."

Tenten giggled, but didn't correct him. They were partly correct in their assumption, but she didn't want to right them completely. After all, no one knew about her problems with Neji aside from Shikamaru and Sa-chan.

"What do you think really happened to them?" Kiba asked suddenly, stretching back to look up at the orange sky.

"Who knows," Tenten answered, falling backwards onto the stump so that she was lying on it with her feet dangling off the edge. She too looked up at the vast skies and began to wonder how big her world actually was. She felt small, almost insignificant; and she definitely felt that whatever she was going through right then would pale in comparison to whatever Ino and Hinata went through. She was just going to have to suck it up and deal with it like she usually would.

Choji's shoulders slumped and he looked towards the clearing's entrance. In the distance, he could make out the shape of his teammates and comrades, the friends who have been with him since his academy days. "I feel sorry for them, and I'm a little scared. They're both so cold now; it's as if their very heart and souls were sucked out of them."

Tenten couldn't help but agree.

Kiba sighed. "I think I feel more sorry for Naruto. Just when the idiot started to really see Hinata, she disappears and comes back with just about as much feelings as Sai."

"Well Shikamaru isn't much better," Choji muttered, and he whipped his head around as if expecting any of the aforementioned people to pop out and snap at them. "I know he'd never admit it, but he needed Ino way more than he let on."

Tenten's eyes widened. "Wow, I never thought you two noticed. Actually, I never realized you would actually care that much, to tell you the truth." She propped herself up onto her elbows and stared at the faces on either side of her.

"Of course we care. We're all friends, comrades. The one thing we want most of all is for our friends to be happy," Choji replied.

"And that includes you," Kiba added, turning his head to give her another one of his wolfish grins. Tenten grinned back.

"Thank you," she said genuinely; and suddenly, her eyes began to sting. She thought about everything; the pain she went through, the pain they all went through. She especially thought of the pain Ino and Hinata went through. And the tears fell. And they wouldn't stop.

"Thank you," she repeated through uncontrollable sobs. They said nothing, and the three continued to sit there, this time listening to Tenten's heartbreaking sobs fill the vast spaces of the clearing.

* * *

Naruto fought his way through the undergrowth of the forest, searching for Hinata. He knew she went this way, he could practically feel her. But suddenly, she vanished. He didn't want to panic, but having Hinata disappear once was bad enough. He didn't know what he'd do if she were to leave again.

After several more minutes of searching, desperation began to arise. He was well away from the camp by then, and Hinata was nowhere to be found. Where had she gone?

Suddenly, he could hear slight rustling in the bushes nearby and his eyes narrowed. Hinata?

"You would be wise to return to the camp, Neji," came the Hyuuga princess' cold voice. It almost came as a threat.

Naruto stepped closer to the voice, crouching down low so as to not be seen.

"Hinata-sama, if I may, I would like to know what happened to you over the past five months," was Neji's stoic reply.

Naruto craned his neck to try to see where the voices were coming from but he still couldn't see. Thinking quickly, he performed a couple of hand signals and in a small puff of smoke, he transformed into a medium sized boulder right in the middle of the bush he had been hiding in. And suddenly he could see them on the other side.

Over by the stream, Hinata sat leisurely on a fallen down log that acted as a bridge, her back to him. She let her feet dangle in the water, but she kept perfectly still, he eyes trained on the rush below her. Neji stood by the water's edge, his back to Naruto as well. He had his arms crossed in defiance.

"I have said so before, haven't I? That's really none of your business," Hinata retorted.

"It is my business when my sole purpose is to protect you."

Hinata rolled her eyes and Naruto suddenly realized that her byakugan was still on. Wasn't she wasting chakra by doing that? "Get a life, why don't you?" she snapped, almost sounding bored. "If you don't see what's in front of your face now, you may just lose it forever." With her cryptic message, Naruto almost shivered, feeling her pale eyes turn in his direction.

"I do not understand what you are trying to say, Hinata-sama. And in order for any of us to properly protect you or help in any way for this mission, we must know what we're up against," Neji continued to argue.

"I think you know exactly what I'm trying to say, Neji-_nii-san_," she spat sarcastically. "And trust me, you are better off not knowing." She turned back to look down at the river, and suddenly, with lightening fast reflexes, she thrust her long, slender hands down into the water and pulled out two wriggling fish, caught in between her fingers.

Smirking in satisfaction, she abruptly stood up and walked down the log, past Neji. "And just so you know, we don't need protection. Not anymore. We're different, stronger. You don't go through something like what we've gone through and stay the same. Hardships change you, and if you can't handle the change, then you might as well go home, because the only way we'd change back is if you can somehow turn back time."

With those final words, Hinata disappeared, running past Naruto-rock and into the jungle of trees. Neji spoke up. "What do you think?"

Changing back, Naruto sighed. "I think it's a load of bullshit. There has to be a way to make them see, to make them feel again. And I won't stop until it happens."

"So you noticed the truth about their eyes as well?"

Naruto nodded solemnly. He thought there was something funny with the way that Ino looked at him, as if she wasn't really looking at him. And then there was Hinata and her byakugan eternally activated. He could only put two and two together and assume that he was right.

"I promise you Neji, I'll find a way to make this right. And I never go back on my word."

Neji finally turned to him with a smirk. "And what will you do when that happens?"

Naruto tilted his head in confusion and then managed a sheepish smile. "I guess you'll just have to wait and see when it does." He turned around, ready to head back to camp when he suddenly stopped.

"It's true you know."

Neji gave him a puzzled look.

"You know what they say. You never know a good thing until it's gone. Don't make the same mistake I did. She might not always be waiting for you." And with that, he too disappeared into the wind, leaving Neji to mull over their words.

* * *

As night began to fall, the group sat around the adequately sized fire that Choji and Sasuke made. It was just the right size that it would not burn out too easily nor would it attract unwanted attention. The fish and rabbits were perched on sticks, cooking over the heat of the fire and the team stayed in solemn silence. The source of the lack of noise wasn't the cooking of the food or the coldness of the air. It was the fact that Ino and Hinata were gathered around their own little fire, a considerable distance away from the group, silently watching the slow process of their own fish cooking.

Sakura sighed, hoping that the weariness from travel would cause a slip up in her two friends' preferred isolation. She had barely been able to keep up with them, let alone hold a conversation. Once they left the village, Ino and Hinata were all full speed ahead with even Lee struggling to adjust to their pace. It made Sakura wonder just how important this mission was to them. And there was also the issue of their apparent and miraculous recoveries. Before they left, Tsunade made sure to update her on the two missing kunoichi's medical status. Ino should barely be able to walk a mile, let alone run fifty, especially with two broken legs just recently mended. Yet, Ino seemed perfectly fine, even to Sakura's medically trained eye; which begged the question, how had either of them managed to bounce back from severe, career threatening injuries?

"Sakura-san, you're not eating."

Sakura jerked her head back to look into Lee's concerned eyes.

"Oh sorry," Sakura smiled easily, giggling bashfully. Her mind raced for an excuse. "I was just thinking about a patient back home," she said, twiddling with her skewered fish. "He's having a really tough time, and he's become really attached to me; I feel a bit nervous leaving him alone."

This was true, though Inoue Kaito was hardly at the forefront of her thoughts.

"I am sure your patient is doing just fine Sakura-san," Lee replied kindly, flashing her a smile. Sakura could help but notice the blinding shine was still, inexplicably gone. "He is in good hands with Hokage-sama tending to him."

Sakura laughed, thinking about her sensei's last visit with Kaito. She knew he was permanently scarred for life after Tsunade nearly hurled his hospital bed out the window with him still in it. His terrified face wouldn't be one she'd likely forget. She also knew that her teacher hated to be insulted, no matter how unintentional it was, though Sakura was quite certain murder was an unwarranted response to being called 'frumpy'.

"What's so funny?" Lee asked her good-naturedly. Sakura didn't know what it was about Lee, but he was always so kind to her; he somehow always knew how to get her mind off of things. He hadn't gone about professing his youthful love to her for months now, but her heart secretly missed those awkward confessions, no matter how embarrassing they were.

"Nothing," she replied, before tearing her eyes away from Lee's questioning gaze. She looked around the campfire. Tenten and Shikamaru were having a quiet conversation directly opposite to her, their heads bowed low and knees turned to face each other in a show of privacy. To Sakura's complete satisfaction, Neji's blank stare was completely fixed on them, his expression weary. On her right, beside Lee, Sasuke and Naruto were eating quietly with occasional words passed between. It worried Sakura that her blonde best friend (the male one) was taking all of this rather quietly. On another note, she couldn't help but happily notice that Kiba, Shino and Choji seemed to be playing a rather pleasant game of twenty questions, not at all perturbed at the awkward air.

On the far side of the clearing, Ino and Hinata were silent, neither eating nor talking and not even blinking for that matter. It was a little unnerving to watch. And then Ino turned to face her.

"So how are you Lee-san?" Sakura asked quickly as she snapped her attention back to her sitting companion. "I haven't seen you around lately; how's training with Gai-sensei?" She knew that subject was taboo, but she'd regret it later. For now, she needed a distraction.

Lee's concerned smile brightened considerably and he immediately launched into a lengthy tirade about the wonders of his youthful sensei's teachings and beautiful training methods. Truth be told, Sakura firmly believed that beauty was in the eye of the beholder, and currently, she could see nothing beautiful about running one-legged around the perimeter of Konoha with a boulder strapped to your back. But still, Sakura laughed appropriately at Lee's exuberance. Yes, Lee sure knew how to get her mind off of things.

"And my last mission was exceptionally youthful with Gai-sensei's guidance! We ran for four days straight to Taro Island in the Sea Country to destroy one of Orochimaru's old illegal research facilities, but when we got there, it was completely empty. Therefore, as punishment for being unable to complete our mission, Gai-sensei and I swam across the sea all the way back home. It was a very fulfilling form of training, though I almost drowned once or twice." And at that, Sakura burst into fitful giggles, unable to resist Lee's infectious attitude. She could almost picture Lee sleep-swimming across the vast waves of the sea. But she knew Lee would never die from something like that; Sakura, herself, might but Lee was made of much tougher stuff.

"Lee-san, you will never cease to amaze me," she commented sincerely, and Lee blushed.

Orochimaru had been long since dead, of course, but Tsunade-sama wanted security. There was no telling who would fall in her old teammate's footsteps and she took the necessary precautions to ensure that no one would be defying the laws of mortality ever again. Just a week before Ino and Hinata's faithful mission, Sakura herself set out with Sasuke and Kiba to destroy one of those infernal labs in Ame.

Before Lee could say anymore, Sakura noticed a streak of blonde on the far side of the clearing. Ino stood, patting her bottom to relieve any dirt that would stick from sitting on the ground for so long before she muttered something quietly to Hinata. The Hyuuga nodded but didn't take her eyes off of the flickering fire while Ino stalked away into the trees. Sakura hesitated for a second. But she had to do it.

"Lee-san, gomen, but I'm not really that hungry. I'm going to go down by the river to wash up. Tell Ten-chan for me, okay?"

"Alright, Sakura-san," Lee saluted. As the pink-haired girl stood up, Lee began to strike up a conversation with his male teammate who sat on the other side of her. She could hear certain words like "youth" and "Tenten" but before she could fully take in what they were talking about, she was bolting through the foliage in the direction her blonde-haired best friend (this time, female) had taken.

* * *

It was dark and Sakura could barely see two feet in front of her. She was pushing her way through bushes and over tree roots rather ungracefully, and she was wholly glad that no one was there to watch her struggle. What kind of kunoichi would she be if she could not even walk through a forest properly, regardless if it was night or day?

By the time Sakura had managed to stumble into the open space by the rapid currents of the river, she had completely lost sight of her target. Ino was nowhere in sight.

"Well now what?" she sighed as she tried to adjust her eyes to the darkness. She looked left and right, trying desperately to feel the presence of any other life form around.

"You could go back," suggested a soft voice from behind her.

Sakura flipped around, soft pink hair flying and kunai suddenly at the ready. However, she lowered it upon seeing who it was.

"Ino?"

Ino shrugged with indifference. She was sitting on a boulder beneath a tree nonchalantly, as if she had been sitting there for decades. Her pale blue eyes shone in the moonlight and her cropped blonde hair fell down her back in soft waves. She sat there, still as a rock, lips set in a grim line.

Sakura gulped slightly, but forced her mouth open. "I've really missed you." Her voice wasn't nearly as strong as she intended it to be. It didn't matter though; Ino gave no indication that she had even heard her. Sakura shuffled on her feet, uncomfortable to say the least. She knew Ino wasn't staring at her, but the blankness in her eyes wasn't something she could readily get used to.

Taking a step forward, Sakura tried again. "I know you probably don't want to talk about it, but if you need anything, I'm here for you." She wanted so desperately to know what had happened, but she wouldn't pry. She knew that, if she asked, Ino would be out of the clearing before she could say "mission".

"It would be better for you not to know." At the sound of her voice, Sakura jumped. Not because it was different or because it scared her; rather it was because it was completely unexpected. Sakura hadn't anticipated a reaction. She assumed she'd be running her mouth dry trying to get out every single word she had wanted to say to Ino while she was gone. "I would rather not go back there ever again in my life. But stuff like this happens; this is our job. I would never be able to face the shame of backing down in the middle of a mission."

Sakura couldn't reply. She knew exactly what Ino was talking about; she'd probably feel the same way. But she wouldn't comment. There was no way for her to make Ino understand that she was familiar with her feelings, especially when hers were at a much smaller scale.

An eerie silence hung in the air, and the young medic was too afraid to break it. She didn't want to say anything that would jeopardize Ino's mood; she finally had her back and she wouldn't chase her away. One wrong word and all of this would be broken; she knew it was selfish, but she wanted to stay in the presence of her best friend for just a little bit longer.

"Did you know that a human being consists of four components?" Again, Sakura jumped. The blonde was complete apathetic, as if what she was saying was completely irrelevant and unimportant. But Sakura knew better; she wouldn't be speaking to her unless there was a reason for it.

"What do you mean?"

Ino's gaze snapped to her and Sakura shivered.

"Body, mind, heart and soul."

Sakura waited for a further explanation, but nothing came. As she opened her mouth to question her further, a soft rustle could be heard from behind. The rosette turned expectantly with her kunai out once again.

"Sakura," came Shikamaru's lazy drawl.

He appeared from the shadows as he always did, but he wasn't alone. Sasuke trailed after him.

"Err…" Sakura hesitated. She wanted to stay a bit longer with Ino, no matter how late it was. But when she turned back to the blonde, she was sitting on her rock quietly, facing forward in either intense concentration or complete tranquility. Either way, she did not look like she would be speaking to her again anytime soon.

"Tenten sent us to look for you," he explained when she turned back to face him. However, his dark eyes were fixed on the blonde beauty behind her.

"I could have found my way back to camp by myself, you know," she retorted, just a little bit miffed at getting interrupted. Shikamaru shrugged, only half paying attention.

"Yeah, well it's getting late and Tenten was getting worried," Sasuke explained. He eyed Ino briefly for a moment before turning his attention back to Sakura. "Shino and Lee are taking first watch, so you should get some sleep while you can."

Again, Sakura hesitated. Even if she went back, she probably wouldn't be able to fall asleep anyways. But Sasuke had a point; she didn't want to be the one to slow the others down.

"Ino, you should head back as well," Shikamaru called out to her. Sakura could tell that those weren't the first words Shika wanted to say to Ino after all this time, but whatever they were, they fell on dead lips. He himself probably didn't even know what they were.

She ignored them completely, staring fixedly at the water. She wasn't blinking and it hardly seemed like she was breathing as she sat there.

"Ino?" Sakura called, trying to get her attention. Again, she was ignored. The medic walked over to her cautiously, giving her ample time to jerk away if need be. But the blonde sat perfectly still, paying no heed to their very presence. It was as if she was in her own world, far away from their own little clearing.

Sakura extended a head slowly, but immediately retracted it when a sharp voice called out, "don't touch her."

Whipping around for the third time that day, Sakura (and the two boys) came face to face with the blank eyes of Hyuuga Hinata. The rosette immediately backed away.

"Hina-chan?"

Hinata visibly flinched once again at the nickname, but gave no other indication that she acknowledged them. She walked casually up to her blonde-haired partner and stopped just two feet away, again with her back facing them.

"Go back," she instructed coldly and quietly. "I'll stay with her."

No one moved.

"But Hi…" Sakura began to protest but Sasuke jerked her back.

"Let's just go," he urged her. The Uchiha prodigy knew all about secrets. Those two girls were entitled to some of their own, he reasoned to himself.

Sakura looked like she wanted to dispute again, but Sasuke merely shook his head. He left no room for arguments. Sighing in defeat, the young medic allowed Sasuke to pull her away, but not before shooting one last look at her missing best friends.

Shikamaru didn't immediately follow. He couldn't leave just yet. He could see that something was wrong with Ino, and no matter how many times he convinced himself that he'd stopped caring, he couldn't deny that he still did.

"Go back, Nara-san," Hinata repeated. This time, she turned around. Her glare was heated and no doubt scary, but Shikamaru wouldn't back down, even if the whole situation was troublesome.

"Is she going to be okay?" he asked, both feet planted firmly on the ground.

"There is absolutely nothing wrong with her," Hinata retorted, almost accusingly, as if Shikamaru was implying mental deficiencies. "Go back."

"I'm not leaving the two of you out here by yourselves," he argued. Hinata's eyes narrowed, her patience running thin.

"Go back," she repeated her mantra like a broken record. The lazy genius was about to retort once again when suddenly, the familiar feeling of his soul shifting in his body overcame him. Shikamaru had trained with Ino enough times to know she had entered his body, but he also knew she didn't direct her jutsu at him. In fact, she barely even looked at him. How had she done that without making a single movement?

Distantly, he could feel an uncomfortable tug on his legs as they turned him around and walked him back to camp. He could faintly register passing by Shino and Lee who both nodded to him in acknowledgement. He could vaguely hear Naruto's loud snores and Choji's deep breaths as he entered their shared tents. And he could abstractly recognize the uncomfortable fabric of his sleeping bag before everything went blank. In the morning, Shikamaru would discover that he couldn't remember a thing from last night.


End file.
